The present disclosure relates generally to impedance matching for an antenna and, more particularly, to selecting a matching network for an antenna based on certain signal characteristics.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
To efficiently transfer a received radio frequency (RF) signal from an antenna to a radio receiver, a matching network may be employed. Electrically coupled between the antenna and the receiver, the matching network may compensate for impedance differences between the antenna and the receiver. When the impedances of the antenna and the radio receiver are known, a single matching network may be configured for efficient RF signal transfer over a range of RF frequencies. Generally, the impedances of the antenna and the radio receiver may be known when the antenna is fixed in place and/or is located at a known physical location relative to an RF signal source.
Certain electronic devices, however, may employ antennas having variable impedances, or antenna network profiles. For example, many handheld electronic devices may use headsets or other flexible external wiring as antennas. In general, different varieties of headsets may have different antenna network profiles. Moreover, the antenna network profiles of such headsets may vary during normal use, as the headsets may move. When headset wiring changes shape by flexing, wrapping, twisting, and so forth, the antenna network profile of the headset may accordingly change, potentially causing the impedance of the headset to become unmatched to the radio receiver, which may cause a degradation of signal quality.